Nut-lock.



PARIS R. HINKLE, OF MONTEREY, CALIFORNIA.

NUT-LOCK.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 6, 1910.

Application filed November 30, 1909. Serial No. 530,665.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, PARIS It. HINKLE, citizen of the United States,residing at Monterey, in the county of Monterey and State of California,have invented a new and useful Nut-Lock, of which the following is aspecification. h

This invention relates to improvements in nut-locks and has for itsobject to provide a simple, inexpensive one o f great strength anddurability, adapted to be readily applied to an ordinary bolt and nutwithout necessitating any alteration in the construction thereof andcapable of effectively preventing a nut from accidentally unscrewingwhen subjected to vibration and rattling incident to its use onrail-joints, machinery, and the like.

Vith these and other objects in view, the invention consists in theconstruction and novel combination of parts hereinafter fully described,illustrated in the accompanying drawing, and pointed out in the claimshereto appended it being understood that various changes in the form,proportion, size, and minor details of construction, within the scope ofthe claims, may be resorted to without departing from the spirit orsacrificing any of the advantages of the invention.

In the drawing Figure 1 is a perspective View showing the nut locked inoperative position. Fig. 2 is a horizontal sectional view through thelock and the bolt. Fig. 3 is a. vertical transverse section through theplate and bolt. Fig. 4 is a perspective View of the plate, and Fig. 5 isa perspective view of the disk and its holder.

Like reference numerals designate corresponding parts in all the figuresof the drawing.

The numeral 1 designates a bolt of any preferred form and having a head2 and a screw-threaded shank 3. A common form of nut 4L is adapted to bethreaded onto the said shank. The nut-lock comprises a plate 5, ofsuitable metal doubled upon itself to form opposite spaced legs 6 6 inthe shape of a letter U. The bend or connecting portion 7 of the legs 66 is arranged at an inclination with respect to the free ends 8 8 of thesaid legs, as clearly shown in Fig. 3. The legs are provided withcircular and internally threaded openings 9 9, which are arranged inalinement, and adapted to be threaded onto thebolt 1.

The invention further comprises a disk 10 of suitable hard metal havinga diameter somewhat greater than the distance between the opening 9 andthev connecting portion 7 of the U-shaped plate, and a thickness to fitbetween any two of the threads. A thin strip 11 of flexible metalconstituting a holder, is doubled upon itself to form a loop 12 which isadapted to snugly embrace the disk 1G, the width, however, of the saidstrip being much less than the diameter of the said disk.

In operation, after the nut 4 has been screwed home, the plate 5 isthreaded onto the bolt to a position near the said nut Ll. The disk 10is arranged within the looped portion 12 of the strip 11, and the saidstrip is inserted between the legs of the plate 5 from the underside andbetween the connecting portion 7 thereof and the shank 3. The iieXiblestrip is of such a length that when the disk 10 has been brought up intoclose engagement with the shank 3 and between the threads (Fig. 2), thefree ends 13 13 of the said strip will extend beyond the outer or upperedge of the plate 5. The said free ends are then bent over each leg 6 ofthe said plate, thereby locking the said disk in position. The plate 5is then screwed home against the nut. Any tendency of the plate tounscrew, will be prevented by the disk 10 which will roll and wedgeitself between the shank 3 of the bolt l and the connecting portion 7 ofthe plate, with which parts the disk is in contact when inproperly-adjusted position. In order to unlock the said nut, it is onlynecessary to disengage the free ends 13 of the fiexible strip 1l fromthe legs 6 and push the same with the disk 10 downwardly from engagementwith the shank 3. The same can then be readily removed and the plate 5unscrewed.

It will also be noted that because of the fact that the disk 10 engagesthe shank 3 of the bolt between the threads, all danger of mutilatingany of the threads is avoided.

What I claim is 1. A nut-lock comprising a substantially U-shaped platehaving its legs provided with alined threaded openings to screw upon abolt, the bend of the plate being arranged on an inclination, and a diskadapted to be inserted between the legs of the plate and it between thebend and the bolt and being of a diameter greater than the distancebetween said bend and said bolt, whereby it is caused to contact withboth parts, and means for holding the disk in this position with itsperipheral edge between two of the threads of the bolt.

2. A nut-lock comprising a substantially U-shaped plate having threadedopenings respectively formed in the legs thereof for engagement with abolt, a disk adapted to engage the bend of the plate and the bolt andthereby lock the plate against backward movement, and means for holdingthe said disk in its operative position.

3. A nut-lock comprising a substantially U-shaped plate having threadedopenings respectively formed in the legs thereof for engagement wit-h abolt, a disk adapted to engage the bend of the plate and the bolt andthereby lock the plate against backward movement, and means forinserting the disk between the legs of the plate and holding the same inits operative position.

4. A nut-lock comprising a substantially U-shaped plate having threadedopenings respectively formed in the legs thereof for engagement with abolt, a disk adapted to engage the bend of the plate and the bolt andthereby look the plate against backward movement, and a flexiblemetallic strip doubled upon itself to form a loop adapted to support thedisk, the free ends of the strip adapted to be bent over the edges ofthe plate for holding the disk in its operative position.

5. In a nut-lock, comprising a U-shaped plate having threaded and alinedopenings respectively formed in the legs thereof and spaced from thebend of the plate, the said bend being arranged at an inclination withrespect to the free ends of the plate, a metallic disk having a greaterdiameter than the distance between the bolt and the bend of the plate,and a flexible metallic stri doubled upon itself to form a loop adaptedto support the said disk and arranged between the legs and the bend ofthe plate and the bolt, the free ends of the said strip being adapted tobe respectively bent over the edges of the legs of the plate for holdingthe disk in engagement with the bolt and the bend of the plate.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own, I have hereto afliXedmy signature in the presence of two witnesses.

i PARIS R. HINKLE. Vitnesses:

JAMES E. LEAKE, ALEXANDER M. AGGELER.

